BEIJING, Jan. 26 -- Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday called for efforts to make the Spring Festival travel rush safer and more convenient.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in Beijing while examining preparations for the travel rush, which is known as "chunyun" in Chinese.

He highlighted the importance of support for chunyun, saying that efforts should be made to meet travel demands, strengthen monitoring and early warnings systems for extreme weather and geological disasters, improve service quality for passengers, and ensure better work and living environments for frontline workers.

This year's Lunar New Year runs from Feb. 10 to 17, one day longer than in previous years. The 40-day Spring Festival travel rush this year started on Friday, with an estimated 9 billion passenger trips likely to be made.